Dining napkin with special perforation feature

ABSTRACT

A napkin including a sheet having sides defining width and length dimensions and at least one perforation line extending across the sheet between two of the four sides for permitting the napkin to be separated along the perforation line into first and second napkin portions for individual use.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional claiming the benefit of and priority toco-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 14/160,823, filed on Jan. 22, 2014,the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to dining napkins, whether cloth or paper, thathave as a feature a portion defined by a perforation line so that theportion can be removed, if desired. Removal of a part of the napkin maybe necessary or desirable for many reasons, including the need to cough,sneeze or remove food from the mouth in a discreet manner while dining,in order to take notes or make a drawing or sketch, or to retain a partof the napkin having text or graphical information pre-printed on it.

Perforated paper and cloth products are known. However, such productsare typically provided with a perforation line intended to permit asingle sheet of a predetermined length to be removed from a roll orfan-folded supply of sheets. It often happens that a paper or clothsheet is necessary for sanitary or other purposes in situations where nopaper or cloth is available except for the dining napkin in use by thediner. After use in a required manner for sanitary purposes, it is notappropriate to continue use of a conventional napkin. Similarly, a dinermay need to make a written record of a fact, idea, etc. with no othermaterial available to use. In such instances, a diner would likelyprefer not to use a napkin already soiled with food to take away from arestaurant as a written record. If the napkin is paper, making a cleantear in the correct location may be difficult. If the napkin is cloth,it is ordinarily not possible to remove a part of the napkin, except byactually cutting off a piece. There exists, therefore, a need for asimple, effective way of removing a part of a napkin to, for example,take away from a restaurant or other dining location.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a napkin thatincludes a perforation line extending between opposite or adjacent sidesthat permits removal of a part of the napkin.

It is another object of the invention to provide a paper or cloth napkinthat includes a perforation line extending between opposite or adjacentsides that permits text or graphical material to be placed on a part onone side of the perforation line to be removed.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention areachieved in the preferred embodiment disclosed below by providing napkinformed of a sheet having four sides defining width and length dimensionsand at least one perforation line extending across the sheet between twoof the four sides for permitting the napkin to be separated along theperforation line into first and second napkin portions for individualuse.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the sheet is formed of amaterial selected from the group consisting of paper and cloth.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the at least oneperforation line extends across the sheet between two opposing sides.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the at least oneperforation line extends across the sheet between two adjacent sides.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the at least oneperforation line is positioned whereby when separated the first andsecond napkin portions are of a different size.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the at least oneperforation line is positioned whereby when separated the first andsecond napkin portions are of a different shape.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the at least oneperforation line is positioned whereby when separated the first andsecond napkin portions are of a different size and a different shape.

According to another embodiment of the invention, at least one of thefirst and second napkin portions contains text and/or graphicalmaterial.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a sheet is providedthat is formed of a material selected from the group consisting of paperand cloth, having four sides defining width and length dimensions and atleast one perforation line extending across the sheet between two of thefour sides for permitting the napkin to be separated along theperforation line into first and second napkin portions having adifferent size and shape for individual use.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a napkin is providedformed of a sheet having four sides defining width and length dimensionsand at least one perforation line extending across the sheet between twoof the four sides for permitting the napkin to be separated along theperforation line into first and second napkin portions for individualuse, wherein the at least one perforation line is positioned wherebywhen separated the first and second napkin portions are of a differentsize and a different shape, and further wherein at least one of thefirst and second napkin portions contains text and/or graphicalmaterial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the objects of the invention have been set forth above. Otherobjects and advantages of the invention will appear as the descriptionof the invention proceeds when taken in conjunction with the followingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper or cloth napkin having aperforation line extending across a dimension between opposing sides forremoving one portion of the napkin from the other portion;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a paper or cloth napkin having aperforation line extending across a dimension between adjacent sides forremoving one portion of the napkin from the other portion;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a paper or cloth napkin having aperforation line extending across a dimension between opposing sides forremoving one portion of the napkin bearing text or graphical materialfrom the other portion; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a paper or cloth napkin having aperforation line extending across a dimension between adjacent sides forremoving one portion of the napkin bearing text or graphical materialfrom the other portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND BEST MODE

Referring now specifically to the drawings, a napkin 10 in accordancewith one embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The napkin 10as well as the other embodiments disclosed and claimed may be paper orcloth. The terms are used in a broad, generic sense and would includepaper of whatever material, and cloth, whether woven, knitted ornon-woven, such as spun-bonded or other fabric formation techniques.Similarly, the term “perforation” in its variant forms is used in abroad, generic sense and includes a linear weakness area formed byclosely spaced holes, thinner or weaker material or otherwise.

As shown in FIG. 1, the napkin 10 is itself not created by removingmaterial from a roll or stack of sheets that are severable along aperforation line. The napkin 10 includes sides 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D.The normal dimensions of the napkin 10 and the other disclosedembodiments are formed in the usual manner by cutting and slitting tosize during a papermaking operation. As an additional step, aperforation line 12 is formed across a dimension of the napkin 10. InFIG. 1, the perforation line 12 extends across a dimension betweenopposing sides, for example, sides 10A, 10B, as shown. If, as would betypical, there is no reason to sever the napkin 10 along the perforationline 12, the napkin 10 is used in the normal manner without any effecton napkin's usefulness. If, however, the user desires to remove a partof the napkin 10, tearing along the perforation line 12 provides a firstnapkin portion 14 and a second napkin portion 16, either of which can beused for any purpose.

The napkin 10 may include a flat, unfolded, unstacked, sheet having foursides defining width and length dimensions as shown in FIG. 1. Thenapkin 10 may include at least one perforation line 12 extending acrossthe sheet between two adjacent sides for permitting the napkin to beseparated along the perforation line 12 into first and second napkinportions for individual use. The at least one perforation line 12 may bepositioned so that, when separated, the first and second napkin portionsare of a different size and a different shape. According to such anembodiment, the first and second napkin portions may be blank andcharacterized by an absence of graphical or textual material.

Referring now to FIG. 2, napkin 20 includes sides 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D.A perforation line 22 is formed diagonally across the napkin 20. Theperforation line 22 extends between adjacent sides, for example, sides20A, 20D, as shown. If, as would be typical, there is no need to severthe napkin 20 along the perforation line 22, the napkin 20 is used inthe normal manner without any effect on the napkin's usefulness. If,however, the user desires to remove a part of the napkin 20, tearingalong the perforation line 22 provides a first napkin portion 24 and asecond napkin portion 26, either of which can be used for any purpose.

Referring now to FIG. 3, napkin 30 includes sides 30A, 30B, 30C and 30D.The normal dimensions of the napkin 30 and the other disclosedembodiments are formed in the usual manner by cutting and slitting tosize during a papermaking operation. As an additional step, aperforation line 32 is formed across a dimension of the napkin 30. InFIG. 3, the perforation line 32 extends across a dimension betweenopposing sides, for example, sides 30A, 30B, as shown, forming a firstnapkin portion 34 and a second napkin portion 36. As shown, on thesecond napkin portion 36 text and/or graphical material is printed, andpermits the user to separate and retain the second napkin portion 36.The text and/or graphical material can have any desired content, such asnames of a couple getting married, the name and logo of a product, or acelebrity or athlete. The second napkin portion 36 can be used to obtainan autograph of the celebrity or athlete.

Referring now to FIG. 4, napkin 40 includes sides 40A, 40B, 40C and 40D.A perforation line 42 is formed diagonally across the napkin 40. Theperforation line 42 extends between adjacent sides, for example, sides40A, 40D, as shown, forming a first napkin portion 44 and a secondnapkin portion 46. As shown, on the second napkin portion 46 text and/orgraphical material is printed, and permits the user to separate andretain the second napkin portion 46. The text and/or graphical materialcan have any desired content, such as names of a couple getting married,the name and logo of a product, or a celebrity or athlete. The secondnapkin portion 46 can be used to obtain an autograph of the celebrity orathlete.

In any of the above examples, the napkin may be any suitable size, andthe two portions created by severing the napkin along the perforationline may be proportionally any suitable size. Many dining napkins areapproximately square and 20 inches per side, yielding an area of about400 square inches. By way of example, the diagonal perforation line ofthe napkin 20 of FIG. 2, 20 inches per side may bisect the adjacentsides 20A, 20D, resulting in a removable portion 26 having an area of 50square inches.

A dining napkin with special perforation feature is described above.Various details of the invention may be changed without departing fromits scope. Furthermore, the foregoing description of the preferredembodiment of the invention and the best mode for practicing theinvention are provided for the purpose of illustration only and not forthe purpose of limitation--the invention being defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A paper napkin comprising: (a) a flat, unfolded,unstacked, sheet having four sides defining width and length dimensions;(b) at least one perforation line extending across the sheet between twoadjacent sides for permitting the napkin to be separated along theperforation line into first and second napkin portions for individualuse; (c) wherein the at least one perforation line is positioned wherebywhen separated the first and second napkin portions are of a differentsize and a different shape; (d) wherein the first and second napkinportions are blank and are characterized by an absence of graphical ortextual material; (e) wherein the at least one perforation linecomprises an area of linear weakness formed by a material that isthinner than the rest of the napkin; and (f) wherein the at least oneperforation line extends across the sheet between two opposing sides. 2.A paper napkin according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneperforation line comprises an area of linear weakness formed by closelyspaced holes.
 3. A paper napkin according to claim 1, wherein the atleast one perforation line comprises an area of linear weakness formedby a material that is weaker than the rest of the napkin.
 4. A papernapkin comprising a flat, unfolded sheet having four sides definingwidth and length dimensions and at least one perforation line extendingacross the sheet between two of the four sides for permitting the napkinto be separated along the perforation line into first and second napkinportions having a different size and shape for individual use, whereinthe first and second napkin portions are blank and are characterized byan absence of graphical or textual material, wherein the at least oneperforation line comprises an area of linear weakness formed by amaterial that is thinner than the rest of the napkin, and wherein the atleast one perforation line extends across the sheet between two opposingsides.
 5. A paper napkin according to claim 4, wherein the at least oneperforation line comprises an area of linear weakness formed by closelyspaced holes.
 6. A paper napkin according to claim 4, wherein the atleast one perforation line comprises an area of linear weakness formedby a material that is thinner than the rest of the napkin.
 7. A papernapkin according to claim 4, wherein the at least one perforation linecomprises an area of linear weakness formed by a material that is weakerthan the rest of the napkin.
 8. A paper napkin comprising: (a) a flat,unfolded, unstacked, sheet having four sides defining width and lengthdimensions; (b) at least one perforation line extending across the sheetbetween two adjacent sides for permitting the napkin to be separatedalong the perforation line into first and second napkin portions forindividual use; (c) wherein the at least one perforation line ispositioned whereby when separated the first and second napkin portionsare of a different size and a different shape; and (d) wherein the firstand second napkin portions are blank and are characterized by an absenceof graphical or textual material.
 9. A paper napkin according to claim8, wherein the at least one perforation line comprises an area of linearweakness formed by closely spaced holes.
 10. A paper napkin according toclaim 8, wherein the at least one perforation line comprises an area oflinear weakness formed by a material that is thinner than the rest ofthe napkin.
 11. A paper napkin according to claim 8, wherein the atleast one perforation line comprises an area of linear weakness formedby a material that is weaker than the rest of the napkin.